8

     I haven’t had much time off since the beginning of the summer, so I treat myself to a five day weekend.

    On the first day, my ex takes a day off work and drives us to Short Sand, where a hike through old growth forest ends at a sheltered cove formed by tree-topped cliffs. The place is stunning. Roots of fallen trees snake everywhere, and new trees grow from the trunks. It looks like a fairyland. The weather is perfect and we spend the afternoon basking in the sun with a cooler of snacks. I feel my anxiety eroded by gently lapping waves of contentment. I could stay there all day but she wants to get back early to go to a show with her new boyfriend. On the way home, we listen to Lucia Berlin stories as we speed along between the pines, eventually slowing to a crawl as the traffic coagulates and oozes sluggishly into Portland.

I go to two shows at a tiny venue called Turn! Turn! Turn! that I’m both pleased and surprised to find still in business. The first show features The Space Lady, who I’ve wanted to see for a while. She’s an outsider artist who wears a winged helmet with a blinking red light on top as she sings and plays synthesizer. She’s used to be a street musician in San Francisco and is now in her seventies but still sounds great. She croons a few originals as well as covers such as Ghost Riders in the Sky and Major Tom. She certainly has a shtick, but the shtick is delightful. Her songs are gently mournful, and she fills the room with playful tenderness.

The second show is RLLRBLL, my favorite local band. They were born out of Portland’s legendary DIY scene of the 90s and are somehow, miraculously, still around, writing and performing great music. Their sound has changed more dramatically over the years than any band I know. Maybe this stylistic restlessness is why they never made it big. Or maybe they just never wanted it enough. They’re amazing live, and I try to catch them whenever possible, but because of the pandemic it’s been nearly three years since I’ve seen them. I feel my heart nearly bursting with joy as it once again gets tangled up in their exquisite cacophony.